General

When war was declared between the United Space Federation and the Alliance of Free Worlds, the USF fleet inherited most of the ship designs from the recently disbanded Earth Defense Force.

The aging “Serpens” frigate was outdated, but still new orders were being placed to reinforce the recently created USF fleet.

When large skirmishes erupted with the Alliance forces, the Serpens showed that it couldn’t keep up with the newer Alliance frigates. USF high command ordered the immediate development of a new frigate design to replace the Serpens.

The winning project was the Mars Cybersystems “Gladius”. The Gladius got top marks on all tests, impressing the USF high command.The powerful Atlantic 118 engine enables the ship to quickly reach any region of space, making it the perfect choice for patrol missions. More than just a fast ship, the Gladius is also equipped with a Twin-linked light laser, giving it enough power to go head to head with any Alliance frigate.

The Gladius has nowadays replaced all Serpens frigates, and is by now the most widely produced USF ship.

This ones won't.Because of their price, they are mainly support ships. In large numbers they can take down bigger ships. Only bigger class ships can bombard or invade planets (cruisers and battleships).